Interface: Sleek vs. Complete

The Windows Store app is often criticized for being nothing more than a “stripped down” version of the standalone app, and you’ll feel that the moment you launch it for the first time — the interface is extremely minimal.

But I don’t see that as a bad thing. The aesthetics of OneNote 2016 are more consistent with the aesthetics of the other programs in Microsoft Office 2016, whereas the look-and-feel of the OneNote WindowsStore app is more in line with other Universal Windows Platform (UWP) Apps.

The funny thing is that I actually prefer the stripped down version of the interface. It has most of the same formatting actions that OneNote 2016 has, but fits them all into less space. I’m also a fan of the flat Modern appearance.

Notice how I said that most of the formatting actions are shared. The OneNote WindowsStore app is missing four big things: non-paragraph styles like headings, bulleting styles, the ability to clear formatting, and the Format Painter (to copy formatting elsewhere).

The good news is that both apps have the same organizational capabilities — notebooks, sections, pages, and subpages — but the bad news is that the WindowsStore app doesn’t support selecting multiple notes for mass moving/copying/deleting of notes.

Also, when you first launch the OneNote WindowsStore app, it will appear using the “Recent Notes” display. Don’t panic if it seems too chaotic and unorganized. Just switch to a notebook by right-clicking a note and selecting Go to Note’s Location or selecting a notebook in the side menu.

All in all, it’s obvious that the OneNote WindowsStore app was specifically designed for mobile devices. Again, that’s not a bad thing! Just something to keep in mind, depending on how and where you intend to use OneNote.

Only OneNote 2016 can hide authors. When two or more users collaborate on a note, every change is marked by who made that change. You can’t hide these marks in the WindowsStore app, which can be a nuisance on bigger notes.

Only OneNote 2016 has Page Version History. The Version History for a page shows you a history of edits made to a given page and who made those changes.

But in OneNote’s case, the difference is massive. Vast. Mind-blowing. Whereas the desktop version lets you tinker with all kinds of options, the Windows 10 version has close to nothing.

When you open the Settings menu, you see seven submenus, but only two of them lead to settings that you can actually change: the Options submenu and the Trust Center submenu. The other five submenus are informative only.

Under the Options submenu, you can only tweak three things: whether to auto-sync notebooks, whether to auto-sync files and images in notes, and which notebook you want to use for Quick Notes.

Under the Trust Center submenu, you can only tweak two things: whether to send personal information to Microsoft to make improvements to OneNote and whether to allow Microsoft to provide “locally relevant content”.

That’s literally it! How embarrassing.

On the other hand, with OneNote 2016 you get a smorgasbord of settings — both big and small — that you get to tweak to your liking.

If you’re looking for the ability to personalize your note-taking experience, the OneNote WindowsStore app isn’t even a choice in my opinion. That’s how lacking the options are.

It’s Not Even Close: OneNote 2016 Wins

OneNote 2016 is the “better” app — there’s absolutely no debate about that –, but that doesn’t mean that the OneNote WindowsStore app is useless. It exists for those who don’t have that many notes and prefer a simpler interface.

Here’s our summary: If you want something like Evernote, go with OneNote 2016. If you want something like Google Keep, go with the OneNote WindowsStore app.

Well, I use both versions but it's a have-to thing. I'm limited to the online version on my Chromebook and my former Windows 7/now Linux Mint laptop, and it works out fine for me.

The Chromebook benefits from the app because of the lesser screen area, but at first I was disappointed that there's not a Linux version because the laptop is a 17-incher. That changed the more I used the app though, and I'm now in agreement with Joel: the simplified interface is for me less distracting. I'm able to focus on my writing more easily. At any rate it doesn't hinder me at all.

If I have heavier needs than the app can provide, I simply do those things on my Windows 10 desktop. It's really not a big thing, other than not being able to say that I can do all things on all of my devices. The app is still far and away much more useful to me than Evernote ever was (briefly, I love deep organization ability), and Evernote's new price structure is another negative for me now.

Thanks for corroborating how I feel about OneNote, Kelsey! I never use the web version but only because I have access to app versions on Windows, Mac, and Android. It's never a pain to use no matter which device I'm using, and that's a lot more than I can say about Evernote. And as you said, the extra layer of organization is a bonus!

I wish I could say that I enjoy the Android app, but it feels very cramped even on my largish 5.5" phone screen, as if I'm peeping through a tiny window onto a huge world. Using it isn't a pain to use, but it feels too busy to me most of the time. Granted, it's a busy app, lots of functions packed in there, but...I don't know. It would probably be great on a tablet or the new Android app-enabled Chromebooks.

Then again, maybe it's just that these eyes have had too many birthdays. :)

I learned the hard way by converting all my notes from Evernote to ON. The catch (not mentioned) was you are limited to 5GB in cloud storage. Believe me, 5GB is nothing. I'm tired of sales gimmicks and will gladly pay my bucks to a company (Evernote) whose only business is notes.

It is mind boggling as to why MS created this software which is amazing, but seems to 'suppressed'. Has pen support, can cut & paste images to and fro, can 'print to journal'. It many ways, it is much better than the simplefied ON

The part you left out iis that OneNote isn't entirely free. It syncs with the OneDrive cloud account. I got a notice from Microsoft telling me that my FREE 15Gb was being reduced to 5GB and I was "invited" to pay for a monthly subscription. My notes already exceed 5GB easily. So, don't say OneNote is FREE

Joel, I expect you will get a lot of stick for this article, but not from me. 1 year ago I ditched Evernote for OneNote & haven't looked back, And each time I check out another app, I conclude that OneNote is superior, in any case for my use case & my way of thinking.

That's pretty much my story too, Peter. About a year ago when it went 100% free, I tried OneNote and never looked back. I'm really impressed that Microsoft had the guts to make it free but I'm so happy they did. :)